Then Versus Now : Bathurst Street at Queen Street West

Caturday Goes to the Dogs : Kiki

Eddie Boycat knows by now that whenever I've had a recent visit at my parents' place, his Caturday post is relinquished to his aunt Kiki. She is a Chihuahua, and believed to be of a sub-breed called a Deer Chihuahua, recognizable by her larger size. My research indicates that early Chihuahuas were all as big as she is, and throughout the years the runts were bred together, resulting in the small dogs usually associated with the breed. I also learned that Chihuahuas are the only breed of dogs to descend from foxes rather than wolves. Thank you E How.

Kiki's story is a bit sad and you can see that in her eyes once in a while. (Or am I just imagining that she looks sad? I've never had a dog myself and maybe she looks no more sad than other dogs do when they're lounging around, relaxing at home.) She spent years having puppies in a puppy mill, and when she was deemed too old for this, was given up. Thankfully she found her way to my parents and is now a very happy girl; a more loving home for her would be difficult to find. I had to laugh when the other day, while my mother was spending a few days in the city without Kiki, she told me how very much she missed her. This only after two days away! This girl is that lovable.

Food Friday : Mojito With Blueberries and Pictures in Havana Cuba

A few years ago Nick and I went to Havana, Cuba, where I had a Mojito for the first time. Cuba is the birthplace of this minty-rum cocktail, and was Ernest Hemingway's favourite drink. In fact, the exact spot we had our drink was in the lobby of the hotel/apartment building where he lived for many years.

Now for the full disclosure ... while the environment was perfect, the drink itself was not up there on the list of things I love to drink. I didn't hate it, but I didn't really think it tasted as good as I anticipating this exotic Cuban drink to be. In my opinion it tasted too strong and boozy, with not quite enough sweetness. And having tried it the once, had not had a second one .... well, that's until this month, after reading a modified recipe for the cocktail on one of my favourite blogs, 'love, Maegan'. She changed up the classic Mojito by adding blueberries! I went one step further by also adding a splash of blueberry-pomegranate juice, and doubling the soda-water, making it a tall drink rather than a short one. That is all that was required to turn this into one of my new favourite cocktails! And given the bumper crop of mint in our herb-garden, this special ingredient will be on hand for the rest of the summer.

A Cooling Rain

I won't get into a long discussion on the weather, as I know almost everyone in the world has a weather story this summer, ranging from stifling and unforgiving heat to so much rain and cold that it hardly seems to be summer at all! Our climate here in Toronto has been on the very hot and dry side, so when it finally rained last Sunday afternoon people were happy, even if it fell in the middle of one of our precious week-end days.

Making it : A Personalized Handmade Notebook